Search results

Christine de Pizan, in several of her works, showed her effort to create a community of women which is the symbol of the united force from all women. In Le Livre des Trois Vertus, the community of women has the image of fortress where the members of the Cite are well protected against the attacks from anti-feminists., In "La communaute des femmes dans Le Livre des Trois Vertus de Christine de Pizan", I first analyze the historical and literary context in which Christine decided to defend... Show moreChristine de Pizan, in several of her works, showed her effort to create a community of women which is the symbol of the united force from all women. In Le Livre des Trois Vertus, the community of women has the image of fortress where the members of the Cite are well protected against the attacks from anti-feminists., In "La communaute des femmes dans Le Livre des Trois Vertus de Christine de Pizan", I first analyze the historical and literary context in which Christine decided to defend women's interests in her writing. In this context we see the origin of her idea of the community of women., The second chapter demonstrates Christine's effort to establish her authority as well as that of the community of women. As a woman writer, she had to establish her authority in literary tradition dominated by male writers. Christine appealed to divine authority by following the example of Saint Augustine, author of the Cite de Dieu (c. 427), and by obeying the three goddesses who gave her the right to use her pen to educate women and to create the community of women in Le Livre des Trois Vertus (1405)., In the third chapter, I examine how Christine, by redefining the role of women in society, and by reorganizing relationships between women, succeeded in reinforcing the union of the community of women., In chapter four, the study of the transplantation of the letter of Sebile de la Tour (originally composed in Le Livre du Duc des Vrais Amans 1405) into Le Livre des Trois Vertus supports the contention that Christine de Pizan, by combining two different genres (romance and essay), established a connection between literature and real life, made the courtesy lyric useful for women's moral education. Christine practiced the genre of romance (which had been always dominated by male writers) to defend women's interest in love and to provide a mirror for the community of women. Show less

Michel Butor belongs to the group of writers who originated the New Novel in France in the early nineteen fifties. A decade later, Gerard Bessette, among others, inaugurated the Quebec New Novel., An initial reading of the novels of Butor and Bessette enables one to discern arresting similarities between their surface structures. There is a strong tendency among their characters to bring order into the disorderly world in which they live. Their endeavor is thwarted by the authoritarian... Show moreMichel Butor belongs to the group of writers who originated the New Novel in France in the early nineteen fifties. A decade later, Gerard Bessette, among others, inaugurated the Quebec New Novel., An initial reading of the novels of Butor and Bessette enables one to discern arresting similarities between their surface structures. There is a strong tendency among their characters to bring order into the disorderly world in which they live. Their endeavor is thwarted by the authoritarian figures they confront. The failure of the heroes reveals to them that their speech is inadequate and their voices lack authority. This study attempts to investigate the functioning of authoritarian discourses and to establish the correspondences between the latent/unconscious structures in the novels of the two writers., Applying contemporary critical theories of discourse, especially those of Mikhail Bakhtin and Michel Foucault, the study examines various types of authoritarian discourses. These discourses are defined and classified under each of the three principal orders identified in the novels. Maternal and paternal discourses are grouped in the familial order, religious, professorial and judicial discourses in the social order, and mythological, legendary and ancestral discourses in the historical order., The introduction establishes the fundamental relationships between the works of Butor and Bessette, and lays out the theoretical aspects of the study. Each of the three chapters analyzes the interaction between discourses, and the negotiation of authority through discourse in a particular order. The first chapter focuses on the subversion of authoritarian voices in the familial order. The second chapter examines the characters' search for parental substitutes in the social order, and demonstrates the insufficiency of authority in the latter. The failure of the first two orders leads the characters to pursue their quest in the historical order. The assimilation of historical discourses enables the characters to regain their right to speak. The conclusion argues that the narrative authority exercised through writing/speaking is disseminated in the intertextual space. Show less

Jean le Rond d'Alembert's (1717-1783) treatise on music theory entitled (')Elemens de musique was a popular, concise summary of Jean-Philippe Rameau's (1683-1764) theories. It appeared in two editions, 1752 and 1762, and six printings. Between the two editions, Rameau and d'Alembert experienced differences of ideas brought on by Rameau's criticism of the music articles (several by d'Alembert) in the Encyclopedie. The 1762 edition was chosen as the basis for this study since it incorporates... Show moreJean le Rond d'Alembert's (1717-1783) treatise on music theory entitled (')Elemens de musique was a popular, concise summary of Jean-Philippe Rameau's (1683-1764) theories. It appeared in two editions, 1752 and 1762, and six printings. Between the two editions, Rameau and d'Alembert experienced differences of ideas brought on by Rameau's criticism of the music articles (several by d'Alembert) in the Encyclopedie. The 1762 edition was chosen as the basis for this study since it incorporates some of d'Alembert's newer theoretical ideas. An English translation by Thomas Blacklock (1721-1791) of this 1762 (')Elemens appeared as part of the "Music" article in Encyclopaedia Britannica, second edition (1784). Seven other encyclopaedias printed the Elements in part or in full. On examination of the first translation, archaisms of language, numerous errors, and the omission of d'Alembert's "Response to Rameau" reveal the need for a modern, accurate, and complete translation. The new translation is annotated by the present writer with d'Alembert's sources from Rameau's Traite, Nouveau systeme, Generation harmonique, Demonstration, Nouvelles reflexions . . . sur sa Demonstration, and Code. The commentary is divided into three portions: (1) the historical context of (')Elemens with a short biographical sketch of d'Alembert and an outline of d'Alembert and Rameau's professional relationship; (2) the two theorists' differences and similarities in theoretical concepts; four parties--Esteve, Tartini, the Encyclopedists, and Bethizy--besides Rameau may have contributed to changes between the two editions; and (3) a discussion of Rameau's principles "clarified, developed, and simplified" by d'Alembert. The majority of (')Elemens is a fairly successful summary of Rameau's theories despite d'Alembert's lack of knowledge of musical practice. D'Alembert does exclude Rameau's use of numbers and of string multiples to explain musical phenomena. He develops a common partials principle to justify or reject harmonic movement and chord formation. In conclusion, d'Alembert selects, tempers, and develops Rameau's ideas. Show less

The study is based on a literary analysis and evaluation of the romantic features of the classical playwright: Jean Racine., While discussing elements comprising the general definition of Romanticism such as Isolation, Love, Fate and Death, this work examines Racine's eleven tragedies according to the above criteria. At the same time, a comparative approach modeled on Ross Ridge's The Hero in French Romantic Literature presents the different aspects of the racinian classico-romantic hero.,... Show moreThe study is based on a literary analysis and evaluation of the romantic features of the classical playwright: Jean Racine., While discussing elements comprising the general definition of Romanticism such as Isolation, Love, Fate and Death, this work examines Racine's eleven tragedies according to the above criteria. At the same time, a comparative approach modeled on Ross Ridge's The Hero in French Romantic Literature presents the different aspects of the racinian classico-romantic hero., The conclusion posits the basic aspects of the dichotomy: Classic-Romantic/Romantic-Classic from which emerges what the writer of this dissertation has called "the Racinian Fusion." Show less

In a literature that is so often depicted as that of the "minority" the image of the resistant female figure both in the work of African-American and Guadeloupean female writers, seemed appropriate for a comparative study., This dissertation relies heavily on Reader-Response theories. The first chapter insists on how because of the narrative techniques we are led to read the female characters as victims. In three of the novels the narrator is also the heroine, which sets an element of... Show moreIn a literature that is so often depicted as that of the "minority" the image of the resistant female figure both in the work of African-American and Guadeloupean female writers, seemed appropriate for a comparative study., This dissertation relies heavily on Reader-Response theories. The first chapter insists on how because of the narrative techniques we are led to read the female characters as victims. In three of the novels the narrator is also the heroine, which sets an element of intimacy between the protagonist and the (mainly female) reader. Intimacy is derived also from the insistence on the character's childhood. A third element of intimacy is the theme of suffering., In the second chapter, resistance in the character is studied through her interaction with others and the world. Attention is given to four areas: the use of linguistics signs, the use of tools, the use of laws, and the use of esthetic canons. In the movement from victimization to resistance, the most visible changes are in regard to speech and savoir-faire. Both are related to the concept of creation., The conclusion insists on the characteristics of woman's resistance and its originality. Compared to the male characters in the different novels we assert how are the heroines resist heroism, alienation and suicide, all choices that black people at any given period were and are still given to receive as the only alternatives. The female characters are not about war, but survival. They are not about solving, but resolving problems. And above all they never posit themselves against the world, as their male counterpart, but seek comfort and strength in the community of women. Show less

The problem of alienation is a serious one in most of our present societies and it has been studied in various aspects, from a sociological, psychological, as well as a philosophical viewpoint. The subject is still debatable and open to discussion., This study focuses on the problem of alienation in colonized and decolonized societies in Africa. Through the analysis of some literary works written in French by African writers, we learn the cause and effect of the problem of alienation in... Show moreThe problem of alienation is a serious one in most of our present societies and it has been studied in various aspects, from a sociological, psychological, as well as a philosophical viewpoint. The subject is still debatable and open to discussion., This study focuses on the problem of alienation in colonized and decolonized societies in Africa. Through the analysis of some literary works written in French by African writers, we learn the cause and effect of the problem of alienation in African societies, occuring intensively during the colonization and also after the abolition of colonialism., This thesis is divided into two parts. The first part consists of an introduction which presents the different concepts and theories of the word "alienation." The Introduction especially attempts to explain the sociological aspect of the term "alienation." The first chapter discusses the theory of alienation from a philosophical viewpoint, as introduced for the first time in the 19th century by Frederick Hegel. Chapter Two elaborates the theories of alienation formulated by Hegel's disciples, Ludwig Feuerbach and Karl Marx. Both discuss the problem of alienation in a bourgeois society. Contrary to Hegel's spiritual approach both Feuerbach and Marx explain this concept from a materialistic viewpoint., The last two chapters of Part One treat respectively the concept of alienation of both Jean-Paul Sartre and Frantz Fanon. Sartre views the problem of alienation as the outcome of the bourgeoisie. Although he explains the concept of alienation from both a philosophical and a sociological viewpoint, his theory is, however, closer to Hegel's. Fanon on the other hand, studies the problem of alienation in colonized societies particularly from a psycho-sociological aspect., In Part Two, we learn the cause and effect of the particular problem of alienation in African societies through the analysis of selected literary works. This part is divided into three chapters which analyze two novels and one play. The two novels, L'Enfant noir by Camara Laye and L'Aventure ambigue by Cheik Hamidou Kane present the cause and effect of the problem in African society during the colonization. . . . (Author's abstract exceeds stipulated maximum length. Discontinued here with permission of author.) UMI Show less

This thirteenth-century epic comes from the manuscript 2.0.1. of the Peterhouse College at the University of Cambridge. It has been written in an Old French dialect and contains 9608 verses which constitute 246 rimed laisses (two other manuscripts can be found; one at the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, XIII$\sp{\rm th}$ century and the other at the Bibliotheque de la Faculte de Medecine of Montpellier, XIV$\sp{\rm th}$ century). This epic narrates the life of Maugis, knight, enchanter and... Show moreThis thirteenth-century epic comes from the manuscript 2.0.1. of the Peterhouse College at the University of Cambridge. It has been written in an Old French dialect and contains 9608 verses which constitute 246 rimed laisses (two other manuscripts can be found; one at the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, XIII$\sp{\rm th}$ century and the other at the Bibliotheque de la Faculte de Medecine of Montpellier, XIV$\sp{\rm th}$ century). This epic narrates the life of Maugis, knight, enchanter and soothsayer, who not only fights the Sarrasins before Toledo, Milan or Palermo, but also leads ruthless feudal battles against the emperor Charlemagne. The hero, instructed by an old magician Baudri, soon becomes a fearful conjurer due to his brilliant sense for artfulness. Throughout his numerous audacious feats of skill, the magician is helped by the "fairy-horse" Bayard as well as the famous sword Froberge., The introduction of this bilingual translation analyzes the main characters, Maugis, Charlemagne, Espiet and the emir Vivien, through a variety of different themes such as the feudal relations between vassals and king, crusades against the pagans, conversions of muslims to christianity and of course, love between knights and sarrasin princesses. The "merveilleux" or supernatural, is the predominant characteristic of this work, and the growing influence of the "matiere de Bretagne" is here, subtilely combined with the traditional rhetoric of the epic., In conclusion, this epic will be reinserted into the cycle to which it belongs, the rebel cycle, in order to understand better the frequent allusions to other epic heroes such as Girart de Roussillon, Renaut de Montauban ou les quatre fils Aymon. Show less

The purpose of this study is to compare three concepts of the theme of "metamorphosis" in twentieth century literature, namely in three selected novels by Kafka, Butor and Garc(')ia Marquez respec- tively. The search for the "Metamorphosis of the Metamorphosis" is divided in two parts: the history of metamorphosis from the Biblical creation through the Greek myths and finally to modern literature. The second part will focus on the analysis of the three works., The Die Verwandlung (1915), by... Show moreThe purpose of this study is to compare three concepts of the theme of "metamorphosis" in twentieth century literature, namely in three selected novels by Kafka, Butor and Garc(')ia Marquez respec- tively. The search for the "Metamorphosis of the Metamorphosis" is divided in two parts: the history of metamorphosis from the Biblical creation through the Greek myths and finally to modern literature. The second part will focus on the analysis of the three works., The Die Verwandlung (1915), by Franz Kafka, exemplifies the external aspect of a regressive change, from a human being to a cockroach. The "metamorphosis" in Kafka's novel reveals a day- dream, a psychic wound inflicted by the first World War on the individual and society in general. La Modification (1957), by the French New Novelist Michel Butor, emphasizes the process of internalized metamorphosis on the subconscious level, the modify- ing myth of a modern descent to Hades. This inner modification leads to an aborted quest for a manly God, to a wrong "Change of Heart." The Colombian novel Cien anos de soledad (1969), by Gabriel Garc(')ia Marquez, both combines and explains our three thematic views of "metamorphosis," "modification," and "alchemy" as an endless inward movement inevitably making its way back to nothingness--mental alienation and self-destruction. The solitary cycle of progress and regression in the biological and the spiritual dimensions of man in the Columbian novel is expressed in the apocalyptic return to a Zero Degree., This study concludes by focusing on multiple novelistic, artistic and cinematographic devices in the twentieth century leading to a pessimistic view of society. Most of the authors and artists who use the theme of metamorphosis after the traumatic Nietzsche's proclamation of the death of God and the genetic experience of "mutation" caused by atomic bombs show a cyclic regression, a spiritual disease: the aspiration of contemporary man to be God, which makes man a beast. Show less

Date Issued

1986, 1986

Identifier

AAI8605762, 3086239, FSDT3086239, fsu:75722

Format

Document (PDF)

Title

Portrait of a seventeenth-century spy,” Giovanni P. Marana: letters written by a Turkish spy.

Simone Schwarz-Bart (1938-) and Albertine Sarrazin (1937-1967) offer an example of the cultural diversity that French Literature provides to the readers. Two of Albertine Sarrazin's novels, L'Astragale and La Cavale, were published in 1965; the third one La Traversiere in 1966. Simone Schwarz-Bart first published a novel, Plat de porc aux bananes vertes, in 1967, in collaboration with Andre Schwarz-Bart. In 1972, she published by herself Pluie et vent sur Telumee Miracle and in 1979 Ti Jean L... Show moreSimone Schwarz-Bart (1938-) and Albertine Sarrazin (1937-1967) offer an example of the cultural diversity that French Literature provides to the readers. Two of Albertine Sarrazin's novels, L'Astragale and La Cavale, were published in 1965; the third one La Traversiere in 1966. Simone Schwarz-Bart first published a novel, Plat de porc aux bananes vertes, in 1967, in collaboration with Andre Schwarz-Bart. In 1972, she published by herself Pluie et vent sur Telumee Miracle and in 1979 Ti Jean L'Horizon., As a young teenager, life in a rigid family felt too hard and too stifling for Albertine Sarrazin and she fled away at the age of fifteen. For the young girls and Ti Jean, in Schwarz-Bart's novels, life in the West Indies presented difficult situations from which they too wanted to escape. The two women writers explore the technics that the creative imagination summons up to take the heros away from these stressful situations. Dreams, meditations, travels or changes of locations, temporary madness are common themes studied according to the theories of Carl Jung in the six novels cited above., In order to become a better person and get away from their unhappy situations, the characters had to go deep inside themselves to get to know their innerself. Through this universal process of search for happiness and a better way of living, despite their differences, they reach a common ground that allows the reader to identify with their ordeals, their reactions. We recognize the characters as being of the universal human family. Show less